Little Life, Long Love
by DeckBeMine
Summary: Riku's the new kid in high school. Sora befriends him and learns he has cancer. After an attack, Riku learns he has up to five years left. Sora decides to make those last years the best ones of Riku's life.


_I have no idea where I got the idea to write this story came from. It may seem a bit like _MY Sister's Keeper _but it's not. I put some personal emotions in this story. _

Little Life, Long Love

Chapter I: New Friends, Old Secret

Sora was just sitting in his classroom watching out the window while his teacher blabbed on about something to do with illnesses and how they affect the body. While Sora looked out the window, he daydreamed about walking along the beach with the person he was destined to fall in love with. It was raining out so it was pretty easy to doze off. The Canadian cost line was really beautiful to Sora when it rained. The grey mist was eerily calming.

Meanwhile, a boy no more than seventeen, was with his mother in the principal's office. "Now, Riku, are you sure about this? You don't have to. You could just take online classes at home and relax." His mother was practically begging.

"Mom, you've been babying me since I was ten and I don't think it's fair that Xion doesn't get the same treatment." Riku snapped.

"Xion's not the one who sick dear." His mother snapped back.

"She's also not an only child. Unlike me, she has friends she can hang out with. I only have a bunny and a stuffed kangaroo." Riku crossed his arms. "Why couldn't Dad be here?" Riku mumbled under his breath.

"Ok, fine. But the second something goes wrong, you're being withdrawn, got it?" She warned Riku as he shook his head. He knew his father wouldn't let that happen unless Riku wanted it that way, or it was a doctor's order.

The principal came into the office and handed Riku his schedule and some papers, one of which was a map of the school. After a brief chat, in which most of Riku's mother did the talking, and the three of them went out into the hallway. "Now, please be careful Riku. Your lunch is in your backpack and I'll be here after school to pick you and your sister after school." She kissed Riku's forehead.

"Yeah, alright Mom. I'll see you later." Riku followed the principal to his first class.

"Sora!" Sora's attention was pulled from his walk on the beach back to the face of his teacher. "Pay attention. This may apply to you one day."

"How? Are you talking about STDs?" The whole class snickered.

"Yes. Now pay attention." There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Sora watched as the principal walked in. He figured it was just to drop off a paper or something, but when he noticed the silver head boy walk in behind him, Sora was amazed. Sora, like the others in the classroom, was staring at Riku. Anyone who took one look at Riku could tell that there was something wrong with him. The question was, what?"

"Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Smith, but you have a new student joining you. Also, here are some papers explaining a few things." He handed Mr. Smith a few papers and he looked up at Riku and nodded.

"Very well. Thank you Mr. Trenton." The principal nodded and turned back to Riku.

"Now, if you feel unwell in any way, go to the nurse's office, ok?" Riku nodded and he left. Riku rolled his eyes and walked over to the teacher. "Well, Riku, is it?" Riku nodded. "Care to tell us a little about yourself?"

"Sure." Riku shrugged and turned to face the class. "Well, let's start by stating the obvious. I'm sixteen, and I have cancer." The class was still and silent. Sora smiled. He thought Riku was different than the other kids.

"What kind of cancer?" One kid shouted out.

"Now that's not really-"

"I don't care. I have nothing to hide." Riku snapped at the teacher. "I have lung, colon, and testicular cancer. People find it amazing I'm even walking around."

"Then why aren't you bald?" Another kid shouted out.

"Well, after I was first diagnosed, I was. But then me cancer disappeared for a while, so my hair started to grow back. But now that my cancer's back, I should be bald again after I start chemo again in another year or so." Riku said with a sigh. "Oh, and before anyone asks, I'm not showing anyone the lump on my nut sac." Everyone bursted out laughing.

"To bad for Sora." Someone else shouted.

"Oh darn." Sora smiled and snapped his fingers just going along.

"Everyone, please!" Mr. Smith tried to regain control of the classroom. "Now as much as I hate to do this, but if you would please take a seat by Sora," Sora rose his hand at his name. "It's the only open desk at the moment."

"I think I'll be fine. I'm not homophobic." Riku smirked and took the desk next to Sora, who was shaking his head.

"That was bold." Sora said.

"You think so?" Riku asked. "Most people would think that I'm a freak."

"Why? Because you're most likely in therapy and speak what's on your mind?"

"Yeah. Riku." Riku held out his hand.

"Sora. I'm the class fag." Sora shook Riku's hand. "You're gonna hate it here." Riku shrugged and smirked. After the bell rang, Sora showed Riku to his next class. After that class, Riku met up with Sora for lunch in the cafeteria.

"Hey."

"Yo. So where do you want to sit?" Sora asked.

"Anywhere's fine with me." Riku shrugged then followed Sora to an empty table.

"Isn't your backpack heavy?" Sora asked pulling a thermos from his backpack as Riku sat down.

"Kinda. But I'll get over. Besides, I want to keep up my strength." Riku took out a brown paper bag, opened it and sighed. "Soup again. Should have known." Riku rubbed his head and Sora looked at the insolated clear bowl filled with noodlely soup.

"Want to trade? My mom made me a smoothie." Sora offered his thermos.

"You sure?" Riku asked.

"Yup." Sora smiled.

"Well, ok." Riku took Sora thermos and gave Sora his soup. Riku opened the thermos and took a sip. It was really creamy and was very fruity. "Man, your mom can make a mean smoothie. Tell her I said thanks."

"Sure, and your mom's soup isn't that bad."

"Try being forced to eat it every day. You get sick of eating it."

"Sick of what? Being babied, or being sick?" Riku and Sora looked up to find Xion and Sora's brother Roxas (no surprise there).

"Both." Riku said putting his hand on his forehead.

"Careful. You don't want bitching now, do you?" Xion asked sitting down across from Riku.

"Wait, Riku's your older brother." Sora asked and she nodded. "Wow. He's so much pretty than you." Riku and Roxas couldn't help but burst out laughing. Xion just rolled her eyes as Sora smiled.

"So what made Mom let up?" Xion took a drink of her apple juice.

"Dad, thank god. But if she finds a reason to take me out, she will. And she better fucking not. I won't forgive her if she does." Riku mumbled.

"That sucks. Bet she wouldn't do the same for Xion." Roxas said.

"Right. Dad doesn't see a need for all the attention. Of course he sees that Riku needs to be careful, but he doesn't see why he can't go outside and read a book." Just after Xion said that, the bell rang.

"Not that this wasn't fun, but we need to go. Come on, Sicky. I'll show you to your next class." Sora said standing up.

"Alright. See ya later Xion." Riku reached over and kissed the top of her head making her face go blank, and making Roxas and Sora make lovey-dovey faces at her.

Riku gathered his things and followed Sora to his next class. After that class, the two went to the library for study hall. They sat at a table together.

"So, can I see the lump?" Sora asked.

Riku smiled and shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to."

"Ok, then how the hell are you dealing with three different types of cancer?"

"No idea. Every doctor I've been to can't answer that question. But I like I said before, it's magical." Riku smirked.

"Magical, gotcha. So are you native, or are you from the states? Xion won't answer that."

"Our dad's native, but our mom's Japanese-American. You sure do ask a lot of questions."

"I'm very curious. I'm also not afraid to ask questions." Sora smirked leaning forward towards Riku. "And I hate to point this out, but you're the only person with cancer at this school. Sorry."

"I know. Xion told me." Sora mouthed 'oh' and placed his hand on Riku thigh.

"So can I see it?"

Riku leaned down in Sora's face. "Maybe when I know you better."

"Is that a promise?" Sora poked Riku's nose.

"As close to a promise as you can get." Riku smirked.

"Sora, go easy on the guy, It's his first day." Sora looked up to find a tall spiky red-head.

"Hey Axel, and relax, I am going easy on him." Sora smirked.

"Do I want to know?" Riku asked.

"Not really. But long story short, I'm in love with the human body; every single part of it." Sora said sitting back. "I write about it a lot."

"Really?" Riku asked as Axel took a seat at the table with them.

"Yeah, quite a read to. First time I read one of his poems, I had an erection in five seconds and was in the bathroom all night." Axel smirked.

"Why thank you." Sora said. "I lent you that one on purpose."

"I thought so." Axel smirked. "Anyway, Riku was it?" Riku nodded. "The name's Axel, _A-X-E-L. _Got it memorized?"

"Sure." Riku nodded.

"Just a little heads up, ignore everyone here and you'll be fine."

"Word about me spread pretty fast hun?" Riku rubbed his head.

"Yeah. Just thought I'd tell you. And by the way, if you need anything, when Sora's not around, don't be afraid to ask, kay?" Axel got up and placed his hand on Riku's shoulder. "Later guys."

"See ya tonight, bubble butt!" Sora called after him. Axel flipped him the birdie and left the library. Riku was smirking at him. "He's fucking my brother. . . . That's it!" Sora went in his back pack and pulled out his notebook.

"What's 'it'?" Riku asked as Sora scratched something down on the paper.

"Oh nothing. That happens at random moments. So,"

"If you ask to see it again, I'm gonna say no, and you won't be able to see it ever." Riku warned holding up his finger smiling.

"Man. So anyway, if this is your first time in school since you were ten, then did you take online classes?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I had to, if I wanted to try and get into college. And I want to . . . problem is, I'm not sure I'll make it . . . I'm getting sicker by the day." Riku's smile faded. Sora felt a wave of sadness wash over him and he placed a hand on Riku's shoulder.

"It's like my mom says, the only way you make it is if you try. If you give up before you try, you'll never make it." Riku looked up at Sora and into Sora's eyes. He found that they were a really bright deep blue like the moon lit night sky.

"Thanks Sora." Riku managed to smile. The bell rang and Sora and Riku went to their next class. Afterwards, Riku and Sora met up with Xion and Roxas outside the school. Riku clenched his arms. The air was colder than he thought.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Here." Sora took his scarf and wrapped it around Riku's neck. "You need it more than I do right now." Sora smiled as a slight blush rose on Riku's face.

"Thanks Sora. You saved both me and Xion a nagging ride home." Riku smiled hugging himself. Xion smiled and looked forward and stopped hers and Riku's mother's car. "See you guys later."

"Bye Xion. Bye Riku." Sora and Roxas said together and waved them goodbye. When they got to the car, Riku opened the door for Xion and he got in the passenger seat.

"So how was your first day?" Their mother asked.

"For once, normal." Riku said.

"Nothing's ever normal with Sora around." Xion said from the back seat. "You'll learn that soon enough."

"Sora? Who's Sora?" Their mother asked.

"A boy I met today and one of Xion's friends." Riku said looking out the window holding his stomach. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to subside. The pain wasn't as bad as normal. Normally, he'd be on the ground crying in pain. But he wasn't. He just had stomach cramps.

"Riku?"

"Hun?" Riku looked over at his mother.

"I said, did they give you anything?" She asked pulling into the drive way of a big house.

"No. But it looks like Dad's home." Riku undid his seat belt and got out of the car. Xion followed and helped him in the house. Once inside, they were greeted by a tall muscularly built man with tan skin and long grayish white hair. "Hey Dad."

"Hey. How was your first day?" He asked taking Xion's bag.

"Different than normal. I'm gonna go lay down. I'm a little tired." Riku pointed up stairs.

"Okay. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready." He said taking Riku's backpack.

"Okay." Riku slowly made his way upstairs and to his room and h flopped down on his bed and his was sound asleep.

Meanwhile, Sora and Roxas had just walked through the door.

"Afternoon, Mom." They said together.

"Afternoon, boys. How was your day?" She asked turning around from the sink full of dishes.

"Well we met Xion's older brother today." Sora said sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Oh really? What's he like?" She asked.

"He has cancer." Roxas said biting into an apple.

"Really, which one?"

"Lung, colon, and testicular. He says it's magical how he's walking around." Sora said pulling out his notebook.

"Wow. He must be one strong kid." She said drying her hands. "So, what do you guys want for dinner?"

"I'm down with anything." Sora said as he started to write:

_Dear Omi,_

_Today, I met a boy. Not just any boy. A boy I kinda like. His name is Riku. The only problem is, is that he has cancer; three forms of it. So because of that I don't really want to get too attached to him. But he's so totally my type. Then again, I don't know if he's gay . . . Alright, I'll talk to you later._

Sora closed his notebook and headed upstairs to his and Roxas' shared room. Even though the boys had the option to have separate rooms, they chose to stay in the same room.

"So, how'd Riku like his first day?" Roxas asked lying on his bed.

"I think he liked it." Sora said throwing his backpack on the floor. He groaned and then plopped on his bed. "I feel so bad for him."

"Xion said don't. He hates that. Their mother constantly babies him to he can't even go to sleep by himself." Roxas said looking up at the ceiling.

"That must suck." Sora said looking up to.

"Yeah." Roxas said. After a while, the twins and their mother were just getting ready for dinner when Axel showed up. Afterwards, they got things set up for a movie.

Meanwhile, Xion gave up with trying to wake up Riku and went down stairs.

"Where's your brother?" Her mother asked a little panicked.

"He's sound asleep, Mom." Xion said.

"He isn't waking up?" She panicked.

"Sara, relax. He's probably worn out. It's the first time he's really been out of the house other than going to the hospital." Xion's dad said sticking up for Riku.

"Don't take that tone with me, Xemnas! Now I'm going up stairs to wake him up!" Sara stormed up stairs. Xemnas shook his head.

"Daddy, how are you still married to her?" Xion asked.

"For Riku's sake. I can't leave him alone with her." Xemnas said placing the rest of their dinner on the table.

"So what's happens if he doesn't make it?" Xion asked sitting down.

"You and I pack our stuff and leave. And if Riku does make it, he comes with us." Xemnas smiled down at Xion who nodded.

While upstairs, Sara was shaking Riku's arm. "Riku? Honey, it's time to wake up." Riku groaned and rolled over to his side. "Sweetie, dinner's ready." Riku groaned again and sat up.

"Fine . . . I'm up." Riku yawned. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." Sara left the room and Riku just fell right back down. He didn't feel like eating, but he really didn't feel like having his mother nag either. Slowly, he got up clenching his stomach, as if he was going to vomit, and slowly left the room. When he made it down stairs and into the dining room, he felt like he was going to throw up.

Xemnas took one look at him and shook his head. "Why did you wake him up?" Xemnas walked over to Riku. "Do you feel like eating, Riku?" Riku shook his head and clenched his stomach. Xion quickly grabbed the trash can and to him with it just making it in time. Once Riku regain control of his stomach, Xemnas picked him up bridal style and carried him up to his room. "When you wake up, even if I'm a sleep, just walk me up and I'll make you something." Riku nodded as Xemnas placed him on his bed. "Good night, Riku."

"Night, Dad." After Xemnas shut off the light, Riku was knocked right out. . .

When Riku woke up, it was five in the morning. He still had stomach cramps. Slowly, he pulled himself out of bed. He opened the door and made the walk to his parents' room. He opened the door and found Xemnas turning on the light.

"Morning, Riku. Need help with your shower?" Riku nodded with a slight blush. He hated the fact that he couldn't take a shower by himself. "Alright. I'll be right there." Riku nodded and headed for the bathroom. He felt like shit. After Xemnas got in the bathroom and assisted Riku, the two went down stairs and Xemnas made waffles. And they were Riku's favorite, blueberry with strawberries on top.

"Dad, is there anything other than soup in the fridge that I can take to school?" Riku asked taking another bite of his wafflely goodness.

"Well, there's yogurt and pudding-oh! There's a salad in here." Xemnas smiled.

"A salad does sound good." Riku smiled back. As he took another bite of his waffle, he heard a practical shriek from behind him, making him jump. "What the fuck?"

"Riku? What are you eating?" Sara asked running over to him.

"Something to fill my stomach and keep down, hopefully." Riku said taking a bite.

"Riku, that's way too heavy for-"

Sara, please!" Xemnas cut her off. "If he keeps on the diet you put him on, he's only going to lose more weight!"

"Well if he eats heavy things he's not going to keep it down!"

"I'm keeping this down pretty well. . ." Riku mumbled.

"He's forty pounds under weight, Sara! Liquid diets are meant for people who are trying to lose weight! Cancer patients lose enough!" Xemnas yelled.

"I don't care! A liquid diet's healthier for him!"

"Here's an idea! How about I eat what the fuck I feel like?" Riku got up from the table and stormed out of the kitchen. He went up to his room and slammed the door behind him.

"Riku?" Xemnas opened the door with a sigh.

"I hate this! I hate this so much!" Xemnas sat on the bed.

"I know. We are all tired of it to, but there's nothing we can do about it. And you were the one who didn't want his 'man hood' removed." Xemnas smirked trying to lighten up the mood.

"I know. It doesn't make a difference though. They couldn't do anything about the other two either, so it was pointless to do anything about it."Riku sat down on the bed and leaned onto Xemnas who put his arm around Riku's shoulder. "I'd just wish she'd understand. She knows I hate being treated like a baby. I can't even take a piss without her up my ass."

"I know. . . So, why don't you get ready for school? I'll drive you guys today." Xemnas stood up.

"Really?" Riku's face lit up. It would be his first time that Xemnas would drive him to school.

"Yeah. I need to register some of your pills at the office." Xemnas said walking out of the room to wake up. Riku rolled his eyes and got dressed.

After arguing with his mother about going back to school, Riku and Xion got in Xemnas' car and he drove them to school. When he pulled into the parking lot, the three got out and were met with stairs. Riku didn't care; he knew why they were staring. While in the office, Xion and Riku caught sight of two familiar faces. Xion jumped up and grabbed Roxas' hood and pulled him into the office. Sora just followed with a casual face.

"Hey there, Sicky." Sora said sitting down next to Riku who rolled his eyes.

"Hey."

"Get in trouble all ready?" Sora asked.

"No. My dad's registering my meds." Riku pointed at a pretty big guy with long grey hair.

"That's your dad? Wow."

"Sora, hate to break it to you, but his taken." Xion said holding Roxas in a sleeper hold. She was stronger than she looked.

"Darn. Besides, I'm not into older guys." Sora said with a sigh.

"Sorry, but young boys aren't my thing either." Xemnas said with a smirk forcing Riku to laugh.

"I think he heard me." Sora whispered to Riku.

"Ya think?" Sora's light bulb dinged after Riku said that and he pulled out his notebook, Omi. "What do you write in there?"

"Anything and everything." Sora smiled up at him.

"Once and a while you'll find a doodle." Roxas smirked, still trying to break free from Xion.

"Oh really?" Xion asked. "Can I see?"

"Sure." Sora shrugged.

"Really?"

"NO. You have to be my twin or my mom." Sora said standing up.

"Ha ha. I got to see it." Roxas smiled at Xion.

"What's in it?" Xion asked.

"Sora's ex-boyfriend." Axel said poking his head in through the door. "Speaking of boyfriends, Xion, I'd like mine in one piece please. Thank you." Axel grinned and kept walking.

"Axel? Oh, I see how you love me!" Roxas shouted after him, with Xion refusing to let him go.

"Now I see why you wanted to come back. You'll never be bored." Xemnas said to Riku.

"The twins? Please. They're nothing but a headache." The office lady said.

"Damn right." Sora smiled at her. "So, Riku, can you drink coffee; or anything related to it?"

"I don't know. Can I Dad?" Riku and Sora looked up at Xemnas.

"I'm not sure." Xemnas scratched the back of his head. "I don't think you should try it. Ask the doctor on your next visit." Riku nodded sadly. "I'm sorry. Now, after lunch-"

"I come here for my meds. I got it. And if I forget, Xion will nag at me." Riku said.

"Alright. You two behave. Your mother will be here to pick you up later, even though I'm off today." Xemnas said messing pup Riku's hair. "Uh oh."

"What?" Riku's hands went straight to his head.

"You're grayer than me." Xemnas smiled holding a strand of and looked Riku's hair. "See ya later."

"Bye Daddy." Xion waved him goodbye and let go of Roxas. "Come on Roxy. Let's go find your bastard."

"Screw him." Roxas said following Xion. Sora shook his head and then looked at Riku, who had a fearful look on his face.

"Something wrong?" Sora whispered.

"No." Riku gasped. "It's just . . . I never know anymore. One day I have a full head of hair; that night I'll be missing a handful of clumps." Riku's voice was shaking,

"Come on, Riku. Let's go." Sora said taking Riku's hand. Riku followed Sora to their first class. No one was there yet, giving Sora a chance to talk to Riku. "Is this from chemo?"

Riku shook his head. "No. I refuse to do chemo. The first time I did, I was throwing up all day and night. I couldn't stand it. I begged Mom to let me stop, but she wouldn't let me. Dad saw that I was scared and canceled all my treatments. Mom threw a bitch fit about it, but Dad didn't care. Shortly after, my hair just came out. It just grew back last year." Riku ran his hands through his hair.

"Keep that up and it'll just make it fall out faster." Riku froze. "Look, you're scared, they get that. But that's no excuse to panic." Sora pulled Riku's hands down to his lap and looked him in the eye. "Quit worrying. Just accept the fact that you'll go bald again." Sora offered a smile but Riku looked away.

"You just don't get it. Before my hair grew back . . . I went into cardiac arrest. . . I nearly died." Sora went silent.

"Oh. . . Sorry." He said after a minute.

"It's ok. It's just a bad memory. It really gets to Xion." Riku sighed. "It gets to her that I'll never see her get married or watch her raise her kids . . . that'll I'll die before I have the chance."

"So, you don't care that you're gonna die?"

Riku shook his head. "No. Everything dies at some point." It was Riku's turn to smile.

"You are bold." Sora said running his hand through Riku's silky hair.

"Sora, remember my rules." Mr. Smith said as he entered the room.

"I am. You just have bad timing." Sora grumbled. Riku just laughed. After the bell rang, class started. Sora did his usual and stared out the window. After that, they went to their next class. After that class, Sora and Riku met up at Riku's locker.

"Hey, Sora. Something's been bugging me."

"Shoot."

"Well, if you and Roxas are twins, then why are you in a junior's class?" Riku asked.

"I is brilliant. I do a lot of reading and writing. So I was placed in a fifth grade class when Roxas was in third grade. We were pretty upset about that." Sora said leaning against the lockers.

"So you're about Xion's age . . ."

"Yeah. Why do you seem depressed about that?" Sora asked.

"It's nothing." Riku closed his locker then clenched his stomach and started gagging.

"Riku?" Riku turned his back towards Sora as he started to throw up blood. "Riku!"

"Don't-" Riku couldn't finish. "Sora . . ." Riku managed weakly. "Back pocket, my phone-my phones in there." Riku lost it again. "Get it and call my dad." Sora nodded and grabbed Riku's phone. Sora check Riku's contacts till he found the one that said 'Dad'.

Sora waited panicking, "come on . . . pick up."

"Riku? Are you alright?"

"No! He's not! He's puking blood and it's not pretty!" Sora said to quickly even for himself to understand.

"Ok! Slow down. What's going on with Riku?" Xemnas was starting to get shaky.

"He's throwing up blood. . ." Sora watched helplessly as Riku fell on his knees and threw up again. "You should hurry."

"I'm on my way! Now listen, Riku won't see it, but he's scared right now, Try to calm him down." Xemnas told Sora as he locked the door behind him and got in his car. "I'll be there soon."

"Hurry." Sora closed the phone and put it in his pocket. "It's gonna be ok. It's gonna be ok." Riku nodded as Sora stroked his back.

"Riku!" Sora looked behind to find a panic stricken Xion. "What happened?" She asked as she slid down next to her brother. Riku shook his head. "Roxas, get a staff person!" Roxas nodded and quickly ran to get the principal.

When Xemnas arrived, Riku was in the nurse's office hunched over a trashcan. "Everything ok?" Xemnas asked brushing Riku's bangs out of his face.

"We don't know." Sora answered. "We just stopped by his locker and he just started puking." Riku nodded.

"And this is before you ate anything?" Riku nodded again and Xemnas sighed. "Alright. I'm gonna take you to the ER, only because it's bloody, and it was before you ate." Riku nodded unable to speak. Xemnas signed Riku out and had to carry him to his car. Sora followed after him.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Xemnas looked back at him.

"He should be ok." Xemnas offered a smile and messed up Sora's hair.

"Oh! By the way," Sora took out Riku's phone from his pocket. "This belongs to him." Sora nodded towards the back seat.

"Thank you. And not just for his phone, but for what you did. Not a lot of people would have." Xemnas placed his hand on Sora's shoulder. "Sora, was it?" Sora nodded. "I'll have Xion call you later to let you know what's going on, ok?"

"Alright." Sora nodded and ran back inside the school.

"He gonna be ok?" Axel asked trying to calm down Xion.

"Xemnas said he should be . . . It's going to be ok, Xion." Sora said placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded.

"I should be use to this. He throws up all the time." She smiled.

"Roxas does things I should be use to too, but I'm not. Don't worry. Worrying about it will only make him worse . . . That didn't come out right."

Xion giggled. "I got it. Don't worry." The bell rang. "Come on; off to class we go."

By the time Riku and Xemnas got to the ER, Riku was knocked out. His on call doctor had him placed in ICU. "So he just started throwing up blood?" The doctor asked.

"Yeah. He hadn't eaten lunch yet, so he hadn't taken his medication yet." Xemnas said.

"Right. What did he have for breakfast?"

"I made him some blueberry waffles with strawberries, as recommended. He seemed fine eating it."

"Ok. We'll run some tests and see what's going on. In the mean time, about the testis,"

"Remove them. He won't admit to them being painful, but we all know they are. His sister says she hears him moaning in pain at night." Xemnas sighed. "I think it'd be best." The doctor nodded.

"And is he sexually active?" Xemnas shrugged.

"What about the other two? How are-" The doctor shook his head.

"They're not looking so good, but we won't really know till we remove the testis." The doctor said.

Xemnas nodded and looked in at Riku, who was barely awake waving him in. "Hey. How are you feeling?" Xemnas asked walking up to him.

"I feel like shit. . . They're going to remove them, aren't they?" Riku whispered.

"Yeah. Gonna miss them?" Riku shrugged.

"I kinda promised Sora I'd let him see the lump once I got to know him better . . ." Riku smiled. "Think you could take a picture?" Xemnas smiled and nodded. He took out Riku's cell phone and closed the curtains of the room. After he took the picture, his original doctor came in.

"Last minute memory?" He asked.

"In a sense, Vexen." Riku tried to sit up, but Xemnas kept him down.

"Ok. Here's what's going on, we're going to run some blood test, an MRI, and then when those get back, we'll wheel you into surgery, alright?"

"You're the doctor, so I guess." Riku said.

"Alright." Vexen left the room and a nurse came in to draw Riku's blood. Afterwards, he got his MRI and his results. "Alright . . . Good news is, we can get most of the testicular taken out," Vexen took a deep breath. "But the bad news is, there's nothing we can do about the other two . . . they are spreading. I'm sorry." Riku took a deep breath. He tried his best to hold back the tears.

"How long?" Riku's voice cracked.

"I'd say about three to five years . . . I'm really sorry." Vexen walked out with a really sad expression. Xemnas just lowered his face into his hands. Riku couldn't hold back anymore; he just broke down.

Xemnas tried his best to get Riku to calm down. This would have been the part where he would tell Riku it was going to be ok, and not to worry, but his knew it wouldn't help. He knew Riku was scared and that he didn't want to die just yet. All Xemnas knew was that he had to do the best he could to make to rest of Riku's life count for something and make Riku happy.

Later that afternoon, Xion, Sora, Roxas, and Axel stopped by the hospital. Xion didn't feel like explaining to her mother why Riku wasn't with her, so she and the boys walked to the hospital to check on Riku.

"Hey Daddy." She said walking into Riku's room. "He's asleep?"

"Not really; just lying there. Isn't that right, Grumpy?" Xemnas smiled.

"Yeah. So what did I miss?" Riku asked doing his best to sit up.

"Well, people thought someone got killed in the hall." Axel said trying to liven up the mood.

"Yeah, so if you're able to go back to school, be prepared to face a press of student." Roxas said sitting in a chair. Riku smiled then looked over to Sora. He was quiet, which Riku found odd.

"Everything ok, Sora?" Riku managed to prop himself up after Axel pressed the button that makes the bed sit up.

A small blush rose on Sora's face as he held out a small little bouquet of flowers, making Riku smile. "Thought you might like it." Sora said handing it to Riku.

"I do." Riku grabbed Sora by the shirt kissing him on the cheek making Sora's blush grow and earn a few stares. "Thanks Sora." Sora looked away.

Axel sighed. "Alright, I'll ask." Axel said pulling Xion on his lap. "What's the prognosis?" Riku's smile faded.

He took a deep breath. "I've been given three to five years."


End file.
